valentines day
Latest
Cross-carrier glitch sent people ancient texts in the middle of the night
Did you wake up to a resurrected Valentine's Day text message on your phone? You're far from the only one. Numerous users have reported receiving old text messages overnight, all of them from February in one year or another (often around Valentine's Day) -- and frequently messages that didn't initially reach their destination. The zombie texts appeared across multiple carriers, including the top four US networks as well as Canada, and surfaced whether you were using an Android device or iPhones. There appears to be an explanation, although there's still plenty of mystery.
Xsyon kicks off season of in-game events
Why settle for one measly event when you can have a whole host of them? That's the approach that sandbox MMO Xsyon is taking with its event season. The season, which begins today, will feature a slew of in-game events on different days. These include treasure hunts, timed battles, navigation competitions, capture the flag games, and a Valentine's Day event. The team is scheduling the events on different days and times "to accommodate players from every time zone." A calendar of upcoming events is on the official website. Xsyon is fresh from its debut on Steam's early access, which began earlier this month.
BroApp coming to iOS amidst firestorm of opinion
BroApp, a US$1.99 Android app that sends automated texts to friends, partners, and family is heading soon to iOS. The app acts on your behalf as a kind of techno-Cyrano. It messages your recipient with a fortune cookie of attention. "Thinking of you." "Can't wait to see you." "Good morning! I hope you have a great day!". It's also smart enough to disable itself when it's near a target's Wi-Fi network by detecting SSIDs. The website advertises that the product "messages your girlfriend sweet things so you can spend more time with the Bros" (hence the name). And, already, Wired has taken a stance suggesting that some apps may turn us into sociopaths. Me? I disagree. We already live in a Hallmark age. A pre-printed sentiment is now de rigueur for nearly every holiday and life event. If you inadvertently skip these plastic emotions, the social sanction can be be harsh. BroApp is no more unrealistic than the over-the-top sentimentality we witness on Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and New Years. BroApp isn't creating a pathology. It just reflects the reality of one that already exists.
PlayStation Store has a date with savings this weekend
If you're not much for the romantic angle of Valentine's Day and haven't gone broke buying up pounds of discounted holiday chocolate, the PlayStation Store is offering deals on select PS3, PS4 and Vita games until February 17. Among the listings are co-op friendly titles LEGO Marvel Super Heroes for $19.99 on Vita, $24.99 on PS3 and $29.99 on PS4. The team-up brawler Castle Crashers is available on PS3 for $3.49, as is the puzzling ibb & obb for $4.99. If you're aiming for something more competitive, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is available on PS3 for $9.99, and the Cross-Buy compatible Divekick is on PS3 and Vita for $2.49. You could always fight for court dominance in NBA 2K14 on PS3 for $39.99, too. If you're gaming alone, don't worry! There are plenty of fish on the PlayStation Network. [Image: PlayStation Blog]
Steam Valentine's Day Daily Deal: Alan Wake, Gone Home, Novelist
Steam's Valentine's Day Daily Deal offers up to 85 percent off of 10 lovely games: Girls Like Robots, Long Live the Queen, Gone Home, Dear Esther, Alan Wake, Analogue: A Hate Story, The Novelist, 7 Grand Steps, Redshirt and Thirty Flights of Loving. Plus, the Alan Wake franchise is just $6 and The Hateful Days Pair, including games and soundtracks for Analogue: A Hate Story and Hate Plus, is $10. At first blush, some of these games don't exactly scream "Valentine's Day material," but they all fit the bill in their own, unique (and oddly dark) ways. Besides, a sale is a sale. The Steam Valentine's Day Daily Deal ends Sunday at 10AM PT. As the promo says: Have a Steamy Valentine's, everyone. [Image: Valve]
What have you done because of WoW?
World of Warcraft, by its nature, is a very social game -- you have to group up and work with other players to accomplish many in-game goals. Maybe you play WoW with your friends or maybe you've made friends through playing it. Plenty of players know each other or meet each other in real life -- some have even met their future spouses in WoW. With that in mind, Valentine's Day -- or, if you'd rather, Love Is in the Air -- is a great time to visit Because of WoW. The website collects photos and tweets with the #BeacauseOfWoW hashtag, compiling them into one grand story of community connections. So why not take today to join in on the lovefest and tweet about the friends and connections you've made because of WoW?
Massively's Valentine's Day roundup
When a mob hits your eye with a big sharpened spike... that's not really amore! In fact, it's downright painful. But it's February -- a time when love is in the air, hearts are aflutter everywhere, and pink and red festoon your favorite MMOs. So in the spirit of the season, go ahead and give that mob an extra-hard love tap, right from... er, to the heart! And don't forget to collect whatever treasures it had for you because we all know Valentine's Day isn't all about the love; no, it's about the loot! Want to know where to get your hands on something special for this holiday? There are plenty of celebrations throughout the MMOverse offering a plethora of events and goodies. Check out some of the various Valentine's events and specials going on now.
Original Dungeon Keeper free in GOG.com Valentine's Day sale this weekend
Dungeon Keeper Gold is available for free on GOG.com this weekend. The 1997 PC strategy game that includes the Deeper Dungeons expansion joins 29 more games on the distribution service's Valentine's Day sale, with Dungeon Keeper 2 discounted to $1.49. Those looking to redeem the freebie offer will need to click the deal banner on GOG.com's home page by 5:59 a.m. EST on Sunday, as the game's landing page still lists it at $5.99. Among the other deals on GOG.com this weekend, players can pick up System Shock 2 for $1.49, Guacamelee Gold Edition for $3.74, PixelJunk Monsters HD for $1.59 and PixelJunk Shooter for $2.69. The free copy of the original Dungeon Keeper surely beats the mobile, free-to-play version EA launched this year, which was deemed "ridiculous" by Peter Molyneux for its heavy reliance on microtransactions. Dungeon Keeper was also criticized for diverting in-app ratings that were fewer than five stars on Android. [Image: Electronic Arts]
Mabinogi update introduces Doki Doki Island, Valentine's Day events
Just in time for Valentine's Day, Nexon America has announced a new update to its free-to-play title Mabinogi that will add the romantic Doki Doki Island to the game. The new area will also introduce the Soulmate system, which makes romance more of a game than it already is. On the island, players can "create a profile" by talking to the Matchmaker, who will then match them with their "soulmate." Side-by-side, players and their soulmates can "explore charming landmarks such as the Harmony Torch in the town square and participate in events to accumulate Romantic Points." When enough Romantic Points have been earned, soulmates gain the ability to fly, presumably through the power of love or something equally inspirational. Aside from hanging out with their hopefully-not-axe-murderer soulmates, players can also take part in a variety of new minigames and daily quests centered around Doki Doki Island or scour the beaches for cat's eye gems that can be exchanged for items such as an exclusive armor set. To top it all off, beginning on February 26th players will be able to celebrate their newfound powers of flight by taking part in the Seize the Skies event, which will allow players to test their aeronautical prowess against one another in competitions for prizes and bragging rights. If this romantic getaway sounds up your alley, you can join the fun over at Mabinogi's official site. [Source: Nexon America press release]
Happy Valentine's Day from ArenaNet! Here's the corpse of your vanquished foe
Remember when you were in third grade and some other little kid put worms in your desk, and your teacher said he did it because he liked you? Or maybe you were the one expressing the depths of your feelings by delivering creepy crawlies. Either way, giving worms to people has long been associated with affection, and tradition mandates the trading of worms between friends and paramours alike on Valentine's Day. ArenaNet, the developer of Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2, has set the bar a little higher this year. We didn't receive just a worm from ArenaNet: It's a giant jungle wurm, one of the terrors of the Bloodtide Coast. Its terrorizing days are over, according to the text on the thoughtful card, which reads, "We pulled this wurm fresh from Tyria just for you! This one won't be bothering Bloodtide Coast any more!" Looking at its bright blue innards, we here at Massively are overcome with emotion. We're also a little bit hungry, and that's causing some mixed feelings. Thank you, ArenaNet. If you're looking at the tub of nightcrawlers you planned to present your special someone with tomorrow and feeling a little inadequate, it's OK. The bait store is probably still open.
Square and Uniqlo partner to sell on-demand gifts, save your relationship
Valentine's Day often brings out the last-minute shopper in all of us. Why settle for gas station roses when you could get some finely-tailored Japanese clothing instead? From now through February 17, Uniqlo and Square Market are teaming up to offer Bay-Area lovers on-demand gifts. Shoppers can buy everything from scarves to jackets online, and pick up a wrapped and ready-to-go gift for the love of their life at the store in an hour or less. San Francisco residents already have options like eBay Now and Google Shopping to get items delivered quickly, but neither allow in-person pickups. The Uniqlo partnership is a first attempt at in-person pickups for Square Market, but it's an idea we could see working at a number of different types of retailers all year long. We gave the promotion a try, and were impressed with not only how fast the shopping experience was, but also how fast our purchase was ready. To shop you just need to pick a store location, and browse the available items. When you make a purchase you're given an estimated pickup time, and a text message a few minutes later confirms that time or adjusts it. In our case, our purchase was ready in just 20 minutes. Inside Uniqlo there's a special table for pickup, so you're able to bypass all the lines, and look like the thoughtful lover you want to be, rather than the busy, forgetful one you actually are.
GTA Online Valentine's Day Massacre brakes hearts on Friday
It's almost Valentine's Day, so polish your guns, stock up on ammo and make sure your ride is bullet-proof. That's how this day works, right? It certainly does in Grand Theft Auto Online: The Valentine's Day Massacre update hits for free on Friday, February 14, featuring lovely new items for Story Mode and Online. Valentine's Day Massacre adds a new weapon, vehicle, clothes and 10 new jobs. The Gusenberg Sweeper machine gun will be available at the Ammu-Nation store in Online and automatically deposited into inventories in Story Mode. The new vehicle, the Albany Roosevelt, is an armored 1920s limo available in any garage in Story Mode and from the Legendary Motorsport in-game website in Online. New attire is flapper-themed, and new jobs include Deathmatches, a new Parachute Jump and new Races. And yes, "brakes" is spelled that way on purpose. [Image: Rockstar]
Engadget giveaway: win an iPad Air courtesy of YesVideo!
Sometimes memory lane is paved in VHS and Beta bricks, other times it's wound around a film reel. Either way, you should really flip those classic video moments up to the cloud already -- it's 2014. With Valentine's Day rolling through, YesVideo -- purveyors of digitized nostalgia -- have taken it upon themselves to offer one Engadget reader the tools to do it. It's ponied up a new iPad Air so you can watch those classic wedding, honeymoon or prom vids in Retina clarity on a slate that weighs little more than a pile of sweet nothings. YesVideo is also giving the winner a $100 gift certificate for its video digitizing and cloud storage services to help them expunge those old formats and make room for that ridiculous darling pink Valentine's bear. You've got to be in it to win it, so head down to the Rafflecopter widget and take a chance. It might just be your lucky day. Winner - congratulations to: Michael D., Huntington, NY
Ouya coupon lovingly lowers price by $30 for a limited time
The 8GB Ouya is $30 off until Monday, dropping its price from $100 to $70, all in the name of love (and Hallmark cards). Enter the coupon code "OUYA<3" at checkout via the Ouya store by Monday and not only will the console magically fall in price, but it should arrive on your doorstep in time for Valentine's Day, Ouya promises. Ouya, a $99 Android microconsole crowdfunded to the tune of $8.6 million in 2012, hit retail in June 2013. A 16GB version for $130 launched late last month, iterating on a limited edition, white 16GB model offered during the holidays. In mid-January this year, Ouya co-founder Muffi Ghadiali left the company as it underwent some "changes." [Image: Ouya]
The Room 2 hits iPhone this Thursday, Android by Valentine's Day
Fireproof Games will launch The Room 2 on iPhone this Thursday and will arrive on Android "on or before" February 14, the developer confirmed to Pocket Gamer. Fireproof supplemented the news with a tweet today that the Android version will be out "within three weeks." The Room 2 first landed on iPad in December. Smaller iOS device holders will need either an iPhone 4S or fifth-gen iPod Touch or better to crack the game's puzzles. The developer also added via Twitter that it doesn't have plans to support Windows Phone at the moment.
The Perfect Ten: Romantic game activities
I assure you, it's a complete coincidence that I'm writing a column on romance the week of Valentine's Day. Seriously: I have a 10-gallon cowboy hat filled to the brim with ideas for Perfect Ten and draw one every two weeks. It just so happened that -- again, in a complete coincidence -- the topic of romance and a romance-centric holiday occurred on the same day. You're not buying it, are you. I've always said that you're too wily for me. Whether or not Valentine's Day is something you do, gaming couples do turn to their favorite hobby for a virtual dating hotspot from time to time. It only makes sense. These aren't just worlds where we are celebrated serial killers and butchers of entire races but places in which we live out pretend lives while taking it very, very seriously. So if you're ever in the position where you want to go on a date in-game, here are 10 romantic activities that this Casanova suggests.
Valentine's Day around the virtual world
Do you hear the chirping of songbirds in love? Do you see the flirtacious glance that cute Orc is giving you from across the battlefiend? Do you smell the flowers of romance in bloom all around you? If so, man, you've got it bad. Fortunately for those suffering from VDAS -- Valentine's Day Addiction Syndrome -- plenty of MMOs are on hand to provide you with a temporary fix until you get proper medication and are carted away to a professional love care facility. It may not be the biggest of holidays in the virtual world, but when love arrives in February, it cannot be denied. And who knows for you single folk? The man, woman, or one-eyed Gnome of your dreams might just stumble over you on this fine day! Read on as we sum up some of the larger Valentine's events in MMOs today.
Five apps for Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day is only a few days away, so now is the time to grab a box of chocolates and secure a bouquet of roses for your loved ones. For a special twist on this holiday, check out our list of Valentine's Day apps that'll help you share your love both today and each day going forward. Lovendar [iPhone, US$1.99] Lovendar is a private list-sharing app that lets you share your thoughts, date ideas, gift list and more with only your significant other. Use it to be as routine or as racy as you want. M.A.S.H. Valentine [iOS Universal, Free] The classic MASH (mansion, apartment, shack, house) game is now on your iOS device with this special Valentine's Day edition. See who you will date on Valentine's Day, where you will go and how the night will turn out. You can also check out the original version that predicts who you will marry, where you will live and how many kids you will have. Twist [iPhone, Free] Twist tracks your location and lets your family and friends know when you will arrive at your destination. Don't leave your loved one alone at a restaurant, waiting and wondering where you are -- use Twist to let your date know that you will be a few minutes late. Minus [iPhone, Free] Minus is a new social networking app that lets you meet, greet and share photos with other people near you. It includes unlimited photo sharing, texting and messaging. To deter stalking, Minus only grabs your location data when you open the app and doesn't share your exact location. Rebtel Re:Beat [iPhone, Free] Why give chocolate hearts when you can give someone a personalized recording of your own heartbeat? Rebtel Re:Beat lets you record your heartbeat as a message that you can share on Twiter, Facebook or via email. It is definitely for the person looking to give something out of the ordinary.
AppleScripting Dates > Elapsed Time Calculator
Since Valentine's Day is this week, I thought I would take this opportunity to share an AppleScript I wrote to calculate how long my wife and I have been married. With this baby, I'll never be accused of forgetting how long it's been when our anniversary rolls around. The script determines the elapsed time between now (the current date and time), and a prior date and time (such as our anniversary). It then displays the result in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years. Note: If you're into the whole "traditional anniversary gift" thing (I'm not), you can find a list of gift categories on Wikipedia. Creating the Script Note: If you have any trouble following along, you can download the complete script here. 1. Launch AppleScript Editor in /Applications/Utilities and create a new script document. 2. Insert the following code: Some notes about this script... * I used some of the number calculation handlers in the Essential Subroutines section of macosxautomation.com, although, I made some slight modifications to them for the script. If you're interested in learning more about AppleScript, there are some other useful handlers there, as well, and I encourage you to check them out. * The final display dialog sets as its icon the FavoriteItemsIcon icon file, which is embedded in the CoreTypes bundle in /System/Library/CoreServices. It is, coincidentally enough, a heart. Using the Script To use, just run the script within AppleScript Editor, or save it as an application to be launched and run whenever you wish. First, the script asks you to enter a date and, optionally, a time. Next, the script does its calculations and displays the result. Just take a screenshot of the dialog and send it along to your significant other. Until next time, Happy Scripting and Happy Valentine's Day Week!
Talkcast tonight, 10 pm ET/7 pm PT: Pre-Valentine's potpourri edition
The annual flurry of chocolate, flowers and crowded restaurants is only a few days away! Valentine's Day is this coming Thursday, so tonight we'll talk Apple-themed romance. How can you charm and celebrate the beloved geek in your life? Then again, if you are the Mac geek in your relationship, how can you amp up the love factor this week? Bring your ideas, destinations, apps and gifts to the show tonight. We'll also preview a bit of our Toy Fair coverage, rolling out the rest of this week. And, as usual, we'll review the news of the day and take your questions as we go. To participate live during the show, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, the best way to have your voice heard is to call in. (We're holding off on rolling in the Google+ Hangout experiment until we file off a few of the rough edges.) For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!
